Fall 2025!

GROWING SOULS, BUILDING CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY

At Mishkan Shalom, we believe in learning for life. Below you’ll find a varied, robust range of classes, workshops and experiences to help you grow, learn, and connect with others—no matter your age or prior experience with Judaism.

Pathways into Jewish Prayer: Part 1 and Part 2

Taught by Rabbi Shawn Zevit

Saturday, September 27 (In Person) and December 14 (On Zoom) from 11:00am-12:00pm

Tuition: Part 1: Free / Part 2: $10 (Members), $15 (Non-Members)

Register for Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here

This course is a two-session exploration of the deep structure of Shabbat morning prayer and the Siddur. For the first part, we are offering a special Adult Education opportunity for members in general and parents of congregational school children, parallel to Shabbat morning services. This is a response to numerous inquiries of members wanting to gain more understanding of the flow and meaning of the prayers and the service as a whole. For the second part, we will study and share what prayer has meant in Jewish life across millennia and what it can mean for us, especially in challenging and fraught times where we need to pray with our hearts and our actions. If you have a favorite prayer you know from Jewish tradition or a Jewish composer/writer/liturgist, please bring one with you to the December session! We welcome people new to Jewish prayer and seasoned "davenners" (prayers).

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Inter/Multi-Faith Cohort

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Taught by Daniel Ricken

Wednesdays October 8 (In Person), October 29 (On Zoom), and December 17 (In Person) from 8:00pm-9:00pm

Tuition: $50 (Member Couples), $100 (Non-Member Couples)

Register Here

This cohort is a year-long group that will meet monthly. We will switch off each month being in person or on Zoom. Each session will be discussion-based and focus on various topics that affect Inter/Multi-Faith Couples including handling holidays, food, and children. We will be joined sometimes for a text-study with Rabbi Shawn and/or Rabbinic Intern Sai as well as intergenerational conversations with some of the longer-term inter/multi-faith couples within Mishkan Shalom about how they have approached these topics.

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Active Hope and Resilience as Responses to our Chaotic World

Taught by Lynne Iser and Mordechai Liebling

Thursdays, October 9, October 16, October 30, and November 6 from 6:00-8:00pm

Tuition: $80 (Members), $100 (Non-Members)Top of Form

Register Here

Our world is a mess. Whether it be climate change, democracy, growing inequity, war, or any number of issues, it is easy to feel stymied by all that there is to do, while struggling to deal with our feelings of uncertainty, despair and confusion. This four-session course, applies Joanna Macy’s teachings of “Active Hope” as a framework to navigate these times. We’ll begin with acknowledging what is true in our world today – both our love and our pain that helps us to move through our natural discomfort of talking about our uncertainties and fears. As we unblock our feelings and become fully present to this time and to each other, we’ll engage in a series of exercises to discover the inner and outer sources of resilience that build personal strength and collective solidarity. Using reflection, interactive practices, and discussions we discover new allies, explore the gifts of uncertainty, and other practices that can move us from despair and overwhelm into a path of sustainable action for the healing of our world.

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Sukkot: Walk the Talk

Taught by Steve Jones

Saturday, October 11 from 1:00pm-3:00pm

Tuition: $5 (Members), $10 (Non-Members)

Register Here

“Walk the Talk” is a series of guided outdoor experiences in which participants learn about “reading” the natural landscape as a text. Participants walk for about an hour and a half in the nearby Wissahickon forest, observe the elements of the natural world, learn about ecological relationships, and study short Jewish texts. Participants should wear sturdy shoes and sensible clothes for the outdoors.

Beginning Mah Jongg Class

Taught by Elissa Goldberg, Elise Kraemer, Keely Newman, and Moon Smith

Mondays, October 20, October 27, November 3, and November 10 from 7:00pm-9:00pm

Tuition: $40 (Members), $60 (Non-Members)

Register Here

Do you remember the delightful sound of the tiles when your grandmother played Mah Jongg with her friends? Do you have a Mah Jongg set from a cousin that you don't know how to use? Do you want to join the fun-loving group who plays Mah Jongg every Monday night? Here is your chance to learn this ancient tile game that involves equal parts skill and luck. This class will teach you the basics and prepare you to join the Mishkan Mah Jongg mavens. The class is appropriate for beginners and those needing a refresher course.

Torah Queeries

Taught by Rabbinic Intern Sai Koros

Wednesdays, November 5 and December 3 from 6:30pm-8:00pm

Tuition: Free! (with a $5 cost for anyone who wants to join the community dinner before class)

Register for November Here and December Here

 

Join Rabbinic Intern Sai Koros in their monthly study group to discuss the Torah through a queer lens in this partnership between Mishkan Shalom and Rodeph Shalom. Each month, we will look at the weekly parshah (portion) and grapple with queer themes found within. We will switch off monthly sessions at each congregation with a community dinner followed by the discussion. On November 5 at Mishkan Shalom, we will study Parshat Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24) by exploring Sarah and Abraham as gender nonconforming ancestors. Content Warning: Infertility. On December 3 at Rodeph Shalom, we will study Parshat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43) and explore Isaac/Israel’s intimate encounter with an unknown man.

Soul Collage

Taught by Wendy Galson, Susan Windle, and Guest Instructor Francesca Cantarini

Sunday, November 2: 2:00pm-5:00pm

Tuition: $40 (Members), $45 (Non-Members)

Register Here

Awakening to Earth’s Call through Soul Collage offers a quiet afternoon gathering of intuition-driven creativity, informed by the season and the moment in the Jewish year. Participants assemble collages from Mishkan’s collection of visual images; journaling and sharing allow the collages to unfold their personal meaning. We use the card-making techniques of Seena Frost’s SoulCollage^®.